After several attempts I have completed Diagram 216, and have now decided to do Diagrams 139 and 140. These plus 138, 268, 316 and 317 will form the upload for the 50ft arc roof corridor stock used directly by the LNWR.

OK then; these corridor coaches are now complete and an upload is currently being created. In the meantime here is a nominal formation behind an LNWR 4-4-0 "Renown" Class locomotive - just released by Brian. Together with Darwin's recent Cab Views the premier line is getting premier stock. When the LNWR based Black Country route is uploaded we'll be very well served!After completing the upload package it's back to a couple of LNWR wagons.

Completed an outstanding 50ft x 8ft Non-corridor arc roof coach (D109 - F) and started an outstanding 50ft x 8ft Corridor arc roof coach (D97 - FK). Somehow they slipped through the net! Then based on the available time might look at 50ftx 8ft 6in and 50ft x 9ft cove roof corridor coaches - 2 of each.We have a pre-op visit this coming Wednesday for Ilma's operation, and the actual cancer operation is on the following Monday!

Just need to check the passenger views in items a, b and c above. I've completed a 50ft x 8ft 6in elliptical roof coach (D184) in the non-corridor area with D287 and D341 on the stocks. These three will allow me to create Stockport District Sets 3 and 4 - a total of six sets were built in real life.

The D378 which I posted a picture of a while back has been sent to the scrapyard as I had built it 8ft 6in wide when in fact it was only 8ft wide! I have now rebuilt it and will look at other full brakes to add to it in order to build up a decent upload.

I should point out that all my L&NWR coaches relate to the 1915 LNWR Coach Diagram Book. I should also point out that it wasn't 100% accurate - the D378 was shown as 8ft 6in wide, and was confirmed as actually 8ft wide!

Thank you Roderic for the kind words, and hopefully I can complete the upload packages in the next few days? I have some consists for 50ft x 8ft cove roof non-corridor carriages which need to be checked, etc. Lost some time as I'm having trouble with Ged's excellent new utility, whereby it works once and then doesn't work again? I've been in contact with Ged but so far no solution is obvious, and hence it would appear that the programme and my computer don't see eye to eye?

Back on LNWR vehicles, I have now received some information on the vans used for THE Pryce Jones traffic I asked you about.It appears that Diagram 425 vans were used with three assigned at any one time. They carried headboards lettered "Pryce Jones Ltd. Parcel Traffic Newtown to Euston" and had "Return to Euston" on the solebar..Vehicles known to have been allocated are nos 9653, 9615 and 9645 (though 9615 may be a typo for 9645). These are post 1910 numbers. Earlier numbers are 49 and 58.I actually have workings for the southbound train at various dates.One was also allocated permanently for Palethorpes traffic.It appears that there were others branded for other traffics but I have no information.When you have nothing to do, having built all the passenger and goods stock of the LNWR and LYR, you might think about producing specific models of some of those which carried headboards.Thank you for the vehicles you have already done. A real treasure trove.I hope your wife is doing OK. My sister in law had breast cancer some years ago and is fine these days, and we have a friend who is just undergoing chemotherapy and seems to be on the mend. But it is quite a long process.Jonathan

Currently developing some 50ft x 9ft Non-corridor Cove roof stock that was used in Broad Street-Watford sets, Manchester Exchange District Sets, Birmingham District Sets (possibly useful for LNWR - Black Country route) and Liverpool District Sets. Six nearly completed and another one well on the way.

Whilst I initially thought that my wife's cancer would distract me from TSM/MSTS work it has proved to work the other way. For the times I'm on the computer trying to build my virtual coaches it has allowed me brief respites from the worry especially as we always seem to be waiting for the next hospital appointment! Of course my wife has more reason to be worried about this as she's the one whose life is being turned upside down, although Ilma seems a bit more stoical about this than me! Anyway hopefully the visit to the consultant this Wednesday will clarify where we're at and what's next. This is likely to be a course of chemo therapy, which means six treatments - one every three weeks!

On the TSM front I have nearly finished the 50ft x 9ft wide Cove Roof Non-corridor Suburban sets - a total of 9 coaches - apart from finalising passenger views, and setting up formations/consists. I hope to create a total of eight consists, two for each district noted earlier. I then hope to create an upload package for release later this month together with four outstanding uploads - also mentioned earlier.

That should then leave me with medium distance lavatory stock (50ft x 9ft Cove Roof and Non-corridor) - used on London-Rugby and London-Northampton services - and some slip coaches. I think that that should cover the majority of non-corridor coaches built by L&NWR between 1886 and 1923. Once the above are created I will need to go through my references to double check for anything missed.

Then after all that it will be back to corridor coaching stock with 50ft, 52ft 6in and 57ft length coaches to be built - possibly 50+ items!

OK then! I have uploaded another five packs of coaches, albeit two only contain one coach diagram each. I'm now looking at full brakes and have nearly finished Diagram 372, which will allow me to also do Diagram 373 as it had a cove roof profile rather than the elliptical of the 372. Accurate dimensional data is not available so I can't say that these will be accurate but should be representative.

Just to keep the forum a little bit active, I can report that I am now back working on the next set of Non-corridor Coaches comprising 50ft x 9ft Cove Roof Lavatory stock, which were typically used on London-Rugby services. Nearly finished the first one - Diagram 102 First.

rufuskins wrote:OK then! I have uploaded another five packs of coaches...............................

G'day Alec,

Just got back from a couple of weeks caravanning in Northern NSW - have now downloaded the 5 new coach packs and installed them - excellent, as always. I have also now added the 'missing' Corridor First into the typical LNWR Express consists that will be supplied with the route.

The LNWR route is nearing completion - however, I do have a slight problem - for some strange reason, my RE stated 'jumping around all over the place' - each mouse movement shifts the ground by around 50ft, so is making it more fiddly and time consuming to place the final objects. I searched for solutions, and the usual one for 'jerky graphics' is to place a Sound Object on the starting tile - I have 3 Sound objects on the Start tile, so that is not the problem. As I 'fly' through the route. the screen draw seems very slow, instead of all the scenery jumping instantly into the screen, you can see each object being placed into the scene in turn - like a slow motion video ! I've exhausted my knowledge of how to cure it, so will persist with the problem until the route is released, then re-install MSTS, but I will also have to get to grips with Goku's new TSRE5 editor, as any future route work will be done in that.

Brian

"Any railway that paints their locomotives such a magnificent shade of red, must be the most superior in the land" (apologies to the late David Jenkinson).

Sorry to hear about the RE problems; unfortunately not being a "route" man I can't really help. I'm continuing with the last major set of non-corridor carriages - albeit slowly. That will then leave some non-corridor slip coaches, although there are two done some time ago so they might need some amending.

It looks like there are about 8-10 non-corridor coaches left to do, and it would appear that I have already done in excess of 140 so far - includes the only batch of corridor done to date!

Not sure what the programme will be because my wife's radio therapy is likely to start in about two or three weeks time! Very intensive it is too - 5 days on and 2 days off for three weeks. As I understand it this is the braces bit of the "belts and braces" approach due to the recommendation of the oncologist!

Almost ready to upload the 50ft x 9ft Cove Roof Lavatory coaches, and the status of the non-corridor coaches will be as shown below:-Where it is "greened" means that the coaches are effectively complete and uploaded. This leaves some slip coaches as well as possible repainting in LMS livery, although I think that the corridor coaches - both passenger and non-passenger - will probably take precedent over repainting? (I also have some LNWR wagons that could be uploaded but further checks are still required.)

As noted above I am starting on the Slip Coaches employed by the L&NWR, and these include five specific diagrams. The L&NWR operated some 15 slip coaches circa 1910, but were discontinued during World War One and according to my references were not restarted afterwards. The concept was abandoned circa mid 1920s.

Diagrams 250 and 251 were 45ft x 8ft arc roof versions built as conversions from Diagram 154 in 1899-1900. They were identical except in Diagram 250 there were two 1st class compartments, whilst 251 only had one. Diagram 223 had the same layout as Diagram 251 but without raised lookouts. In the first instance there were three 223s and nine 251s, all bar one were converted to 223s. Diagram 250 (total of 5) were converted to Diagram 222 by the removal of the raised lookouts. My intention is to create all four versions, although in relation to Brian’s LNWR route Diagrams 250 and 251 may not be relevant?

Diagram 247 was a 57ft x 9ft elliptical (toplight) roof slip coach built circa 1913. I understand that at some point the raised lookouts (one at each end) were removed but not sure when. I shall create this with the lookouts.

Diagram 248 was a 57ft x 8ft cove roof slip coach built circa 1906. I understand that at some point the raised lookouts (one at each end) were removed but not sure when. I shall create this with the lookouts.

Diagran 249 was a 50ft x 8ft arc roof slip coach built circa 1901. These were converted to Diagram 222 traditional brakes with no raised lookouts, and the conversions took place circa grouping. I shall model both but will apply an LMS livery to Diagram 222.

All of these coaches lasted into LMS days, with Diagrams 247, 248 and 249/222 lasting into BR days circa early 1950s.

Diagram 247 complete and Diagram 248 approaching completion. After that it's Diagram 249 and its alter ego Diagram 221. I then hope to review the non-corridor coaches and check for any that I've missed.

Mind you I have to fit this in with Ilma's imminent course of radio therapy, which will take up three weeks!

I've added the gas lamps to Diagram 249 and currently working up Diagram 221, which was a converted Diagram 249 with no roof look out and with electric lighting.

I am also rationalising the current batch of Non Corridor Carriages for my own use. this involves creating Trainset folders labelled with the size and roof profile; e.g. LNWR_45ft_NCC_Arc. This includes renaming and amending the associated consists, and using LNWR engines uploaded by Brian. I have nearly always included both CHAIN and AUTOMATIC coupling ENG files, but as Brian's stock is all CHAIN defined I am going to remove all AUTOMATIC defined ENG files from these new folders. All new uploads will be based on this new naming policy and will only include CHAIN defined ENG files.

Once I had downloaded and unzipped each of your coach packs, the first thing I did, is work through each folder and DELETE all the A automatic coupling .wag files and their attendant A .jpg files - then I checked the included consists and adjusted any A to C, before I copied them over to my active train sim installations (MSTS and OR). Remembering that the automatic (Buckeye) couplings are only a thing with modern BR coaches, not historic stock. I could quite easily have left the folders alone and ignored the existence of the A coaches, but my tidy mind told me to clean it up a bit to save disk space. (As a retired engineer, my mind is maybe a bit too precise for my own good, but I like to keep things neat and tidy ).

I would think that anyone who downloads and uses your LNWR stock would be relatively experienced simmers, as most others who like the modern 'plastic' stock would not be bothered downloading something so old !!! I didn't have any problem identifying any of your coach types, so renaming and reissuing the coaches is a lot of work, so if I was you, I wouldn't bother reissuing them. Changing your ideas for FUTURE stock is OK, but I think it is unnecessary to change the existing files. As far as consists, I think any user would change the original consist locos to their choice, so having to reissue consists with new locos is again a wasted effort.

Also, bear in mind that there are at least two activity writers currently producing new LNWR activities using the currently available stock, so if you reissued the coach packs it would probably cause a lot of confusion and throw their activity writing out a bit.

So, in essence, leave the existing coach packs as is, but change the FUTURE stock to your new ideas.

Keep up the great work !!! Your coach packs make any LNWR route and activities a joy to use (same thing with your LYR wagons).

Regards, Brian

"Any railway that paints their locomotives such a magnificent shade of red, must be the most superior in the land" (apologies to the late David Jenkinson).

I agree with Brian RE: updating existing coach packs, I have downloaded the route and stock and made a miniroute from them in preparation to write some acts, I would hate to make a pack of acts for the route only to find they were out of date before or just after I released them.

Thanks for your ideas and comments, and to be honest I had decided against uploading any "rationalised" sets. However I have actually completed the exercise for my own benefit, mainly as a distraction from dealing with Ilma's problems. Whilst the breast cancer appears to have been dealt with, a bone scan yesterday appears to have thrown up some anomalies that require additional tests, etc.!I will try and complete the slip coaches this week and look to upload them with the last batch of non-corridor (50 x 8ft Cove Lavatory coaches) stock. I'll also upload the wagons as well.

Not sure when I'll restart TSM work as it is proving difficult to concentrate with Ilma's condition remaining unclear after several scans. The breast cancer was supposedly dealt with with no spread, but I get the impression that the oncologist remains concerned that there may be some secondary affects elsewhere!